UMass Dartmouth readies for chancellor's six-day inauguration

Saturday

Mar 16, 2013 at 12:01 AM

DARTMOUTH — UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Divina Grossman's inauguration next month will come amid a week of events at the university featuring presentations by alumni innovators, performances by student musicians and a talk by retired Congressman Barney Frank.

MATT CAMARA

DARTMOUTH — UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Divina Grossman's inauguration next month will come amid a week of events at the university featuring presentations by alumni innovators, performances by student musicians and a talk by retired Congressman Barney Frank.

"We just had a lot of ideas come forward about what a lot of folks wanted to do," university spokesman John Hoey said, explaining why the ceremony was expanded to six days from the three originally planned.

Grossman's inauguration as chancellor will be held April 4, four days into the weeklong extravaganza in between other events aimed at showing the public the work of students and faculty and heralding the university's transformation from a regional campus to an institution aspiring for more.

Although the full slate of events remains in flux, the university provided The Standard-Times with a rundown of already-scheduled events.

The festivities, all playing off the "Celebration of Transformation" theme, begin April 1 with an exhibit of work by "innovative" UMass Dartmouth students, many from the university's honors program. Other events may be added to that day's schedule, which is still being adjusted, Hoey said.

The next day, April 2, will see the university celebrate its new library addition with a visit from Frank and talks with the architects responsible for redesigning a large part of the Claire T. Carney Library over the past several years. (Frank gave his personal papers to UMass Dartmouth when he left office.)

The library celebration also will feature a visit from Carney, a former trustee and library patron for whom the current building is named.

April 3 continues the celebration with numerous alumni panels designed to give current students a chance to meet with and learn from the university's graduates.

Events later in the week have yet to be finalized but include Grossman joining with high school students to paint a mural and campus visits from local schools.

The university's master of fine arts thesis exhibition caps off the week April 6.

Members of the campus community and general public are invited to all inauguration events. For more information, visit umassd.edu/inauguration.